Reference to Related Application
The present application relates to and is an improvement over my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 510,314, filed Sept. 30, 1974, for "Apparatus for Automatically Mixing a Cleaning Solution for Automatic Cleaning Equipment for Dairies or the Like", now U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,652.
Field of Use
This invention relates to apparatus for automatically mixing and circulating cleaning solutions through dairy equipment, such as in-place milk line equipment, bulk storage tanks, or the like. The apparatus comprises individual pumps for supplying ingredients, such as a detergent, or an acid, and a sanitizer, to a mixing receptacle for mixing with a solvent such as water to form a cleaning solution and a main pump for circulating the cleaning solution through the equipment. Control means, including a timer, are provided to operate the individual pumps and the main pump in a predetermined sequence to provide desired cycles of operation. The control means further includes means for sensing the amount of an ingredient being added by an individual pump during an appropriate cycle and for stopping that individual pump when a predetermined amount of the ingredient has been added.
Description of the Prior Art
Many types of dairy equipment or other equipment are required to be cleaned-in-place and this cleaning must be made frequently in order to comply with the sanitation laws of the various states. Various ingredients must be used in the cleaning solution to insure absolute cleaning of the interior of the pipes, etc., for example, an acid must be used to cut the residue milk from the pipes in milking systems. A detergent is also used to thoroughly clean the equipment, and when the cleaning cycle is finished, the system must be flushed with clear water and then preferably sanitized by means of a sanitizer. As a result, various sequences of cleaning operations must be performed in timed relationship in such equipment. One example of milk line equipment with which the present invention finds utility is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,576 issued June 29, 1965, to L. F. Bender and entitled "Milk Line Releaser and Washing Apparatus." That apparatus utilizes automatically operated releaser apparatus of the vacuum type and in which the cleaning solution is held in a large tank and circulated through the milk line and vacuum releaser apparatus to thoroughly clean the same.
Another example of equipment with which the present invention finds utility is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,447, issued April 9, 1974, to L. F. Bender and entitled "Automatic Tank Washer with Spin-Burst Mechanism for Washing, Rinsing, and Sanitizing." That apparatus automatically washed milk storage tanks by means of appropriate steps in a washing cycle.
Reference may be had to my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 510,314 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,652, hereinbefore described, for an example of apparatus of a type with which the present invention may be advantageously employed.